U.S. shale production to climb by 131,000 barrels a day this month, EIA says

An oil worker walks pass the manifold (right) and frac pumps (left) at a Chesapeake Energy hydraulic fracturing operation near Carrizo Springs, Texas Thursday May 5, 2011. Hydraulic fracturing is a method of removing oil and gas from rock formations such as the Eagle Ford shale formation in south central Texas. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net less

An oil worker walks pass the manifold (right) and frac pumps (left) at a Chesapeake Energy hydraulic fracturing operation near Carrizo Springs, Texas Thursday May 5, 2011. Hydraulic fracturing is a method of ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

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An oil worker walks pass the manifold (right) and frac pumps (left) at a Chesapeake Energy hydraulic fracturing operation near Carrizo Springs, Texas Thursday May 5, 2011. Hydraulic fracturing is a method of removing oil and gas from rock formations such as the Eagle Ford shale formation in south central Texas. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net less

An oil worker walks pass the manifold (right) and frac pumps (left) at a Chesapeake Energy hydraulic fracturing operation near Carrizo Springs, Texas Thursday May 5, 2011. Hydraulic fracturing is a method of ... more

Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS

U.S. shale production to climb by 131,000 barrels a day this month, EIA says

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U.S. shale drillers should pump another 131,000 barrels a day from six major plays this month, with the bulk of that coming from Texas' Permian Basin and Eagle Ford Shale, the Energy Department said Monday.

The Energy Information Administration projected that West Texas oil producers in the Permian will flow an additional 80,000 barrels a day by April, and in the Eagle Ford in South Texas, they'll pump another 23,000 barrels a day.

That'll bring output in the Permian, which stretches across West Texas and eastern New Mexico, to 3.16 million barrels a day. Production there crossed the 3 million barrel-a-day mark last month.

In the Eagle Ford, production will climb to 1.33 million barrels a day. The Bakken Shale in North Dakota and the Niobrara, most of which is in Colorado, will both raise production by another 12,000 barrels a day. All told, the seven major U.S. shale plays will pump 6.95 million barrels a day.